The Five-Forty-Eight

For the television adaptation, see The Five Forty-Eight.
"The Five-Forty-Eight"
Short story by John Cheever
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)short story
Publication
PublisherThe New Yorker
Media typePrint (Magazine)
Publication dateApril 10, 1954

The Five-Forty-Eight is a short story written by John Cheever that was originally published in the April 10, 1954, issue of The New Yorker[1][2] and later collected in The Housebreaker of Shady Hill and Other Stories (1958) and The Stories of John Cheever (1978).

In 1955 The Five-Forty-Eight was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Magazine Award.[3][4][5]

The story takes place in downtown Manhattan, New York City, where the protagonist (Blake), attempts to escape his former employee (Miss Dent), who was fired shortly after a one-night stand. Miss Dent eventually catches up to Blake, where they talk on the Five-Forty-Eight train towards Shady Hill.

  1. ^ "The Five-Forty-Eight". The New Yorker. April 10, 1954. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  2. ^ Bailey, 1994 p. 1025-1026
  3. ^ Meanor, 1994 p. 15
  4. ^ Waldeland, 1979 p. 70
  5. ^ Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C. (January 1, 1999). Who's Who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9781573561112.